About this wine

Vineyard and terroir

This anniversary wine came from contrada Barbabecchi in the Solicchiata district of Castiglione di Sicilia, in Etna’s northern valley. The vineyard lies at 870–910 metres and faces north to north-east. Its ungrafted vines average more than a century old.

Grapes

100% Nerello Mascalese from ungrafted vines.

Vinification

The grapes were destemmed and lightly crushed. Fermentation began with a pied-de-cuve and indigenous yeasts, followed by approximately 50 days of skin contact. The wine was neither fined nor subjected to conventional clarification; filtration before bottling used 5-micron polypropylene cartridges. Sulphur could range from 15 to 50 mg/L depending on grape quality and wine stability.

Ageing

Ageing comprised 18 months in neutral epoxy tanks holding 1,500–2,500 litres, followed by another 18 months in bottle.

Technical data

The applicable denominations are DOP Sicilia or IGP Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese. Approximate production for the later BB expression is 1,500 bottles. Formats are 750 ml, 1.5 L and 3 L, with 5 L available by special request. The wine uses a dark Burgundy bottle; Zalto Burgundy is the recommended stemware.

Vintage notes

Persistent humidity and a lack of wind made 2010 the estate’s most difficult harvest to that point. Mould developed progressively, requiring repeated picking of small parcels. No Magma® was produced. Instead, the Barbabecchi fruit was retained as a single-vineyard MunJebel® to express the site below the threshold required for Magma®. The wine was released as MunJebel® 10th Anniversary; the same approach was repeated in 2018 under the name MunJebel® Rosso BB. Despite the difficult vintage, MunJebel Rosso 7 “VA” was singled out for its elegance and finesse.